Specifications include, but are not limited to: In order to serve as a dedicated evaluation resource for the Department, the evaluation partner will need to be able to provide a full scope of evaluation services for a wide range of public health programs and projects. For each evaluation project, the evaluation partner will be expected to be involved in engaging stakeholders, clarifying program definition, creating the evaluation design, conducting data collection and analysis, preparing recommendations, and facilitating the use of evaluation findings. The partner may also be requested to conduct, or assist Department staff to conduct, evaluation capacity building activities for Department staff and partners. The evaluation contractor will develop a comprehensive evaluation plan to guide activities for all evaluation projects undertaken and will provide an evaluation report based on findings. The scope and content of the evaluation(s) will be determined in conjunction with program stakeholders and will be based on programmatic needs, grant requirements, and available funding. Most Department evaluations require the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods and are designed to generate answers to both process and outcome evaluation questions. The organization awarded this contract will be responsible for providing evaluation services to all Department programs needing assistance. It is impossible to estimate the number of evaluation projects that may be undertaken during the duration of the contract, but the awardee must have the capacity to manage multiple evaluations simultaneously as necessary. Evaluations are intended to determine programmatic/intervention reach and impact and guide program improvement. In doing so, evaluation designs, in most cases, will need to include measurement of outcomes as well as being designed to generate results that can inform program improvement, replicability, and decision-making. Evaluations will also need to be designed such that they can determine if there are any negative/unintended results from programmatic activities that need to be addressed, corrected, and improved. In such cases where negative/unintended effects are identified, the contractor will be asked to identify and recommend remediation approaches when appropriate.
